Few would argue that Troup linebacker Reuben Foster has been going through a tough time lately.

Troup head coach Charles Flowers was fired last week for reasons that have yet to come to light, and that is a coaching change is something that no player wants to go through.

Add to it that Flowers and Foster were so close that the blue chip linebacker considers him a father figure, and one could imagine that such a situation is just short of unbearable.

As it turned out, a trip out of town with some friends was just what Foster needed.

"With all that has been going one, it was great to get away from it," said Foster. "Spending the day at Georgia with Tray (Matthews), Shaq (Wiggins), and my teammates Cortez (Leonard), (Ricky) Frasier, and (Maurice) Swain, it was just incredible. It was the best time I have had yet."

The fact that Foster's teammates from Troup, Leonard, Frasier, and Swain made the trip to Athens might come as a surprise to Georgia fans, but it also shocked their five-star teammate.

Even with his teammates making the trip, UGA hosted a rather small group of visitors for this particular junior day, and that gave Foster a chance to spend more time with the coaches.

"Man, I got to spend several hours with the coaches," he said. "I hung out with Coach (Kirk) Olivadotti and Coach (Todd) Grantham, and they are really cool guys. I know them real good. We just spent time talking about me, my life, and what is best for me really."

"Man, I am glad they came," said Foster. "I thought they were doing to Auburn this weekend, but they decided to make the trip, and it made it more fun. Ricky, Cortez, and Maurice are still waiting on their offer, and they are great players."

According to the Rivals100 linebacker, the best part of the visit was just the overall atmosphere on campus.

"Just the atmosphere around the place is so fun, and just incredible," he said. "The folks chanted my name at the basketball game and it was just great. That was just awesome to hear that and I had a lot of fun there."

Foster committed to Alabama last summer, but has not been shy in admitting that he is still checking out other schools.

With this visit to Georgia, combined with a few previous visits, many Georgia and Alabama fans want to know if anything has changed.

"I'm committed to Alabama," said Foster. "My heart is still there, but I'm going to make sure I'm going for the right things. It's smart to look around and make sure I'm making the right decision. There is a long way to go, but I'm still committed to Alabama.

Much has been made of Foster's friendship with Matthews, who is recruiting him to Georgia. But according to Foster, he'll have the opportunity to show his good bud Tuscaloosa soon.

"Oh, Tray will be at Alabama soon," said Foster. "So we will see how that works out when he goes there with me. I'll show him a good time too. We will play together, somehow."